Jiuxi

Chapter 736 Chapter 734 [Each has its own strengths]

After entering June, Jing's army had gained a great advantage on the western front.

Eight towns to the west of Yongqiu have fallen into the hands of Jing's army, and the only barrier left to the north is Taikang City.

Under the command of Wuyan Shu, the Jing army displayed extremely high tactical qualities. They advanced as fast as the wind and attacked as fast as fire, constantly destroying the Qi army's defense system outside Yongqiu City.

Because he had been ambushed several times by Jing's army in the wild, Liu Shouguang simply gave up dealing with the enemy and ordered the defenders in various places to hold the city passes. This was a helpless and clumsy move, but it was also the most correct strategy at the moment.

In the Jingjun camp more than ten miles north of Taikang City, the atmosphere in the commander's tent was extremely solemn, as if the recent series of victories could not make the generals happy.

They had all the advantages here, but they didn't expect such a big mistake to happen in the north.

Yaoshan Pass was breached by the Qi army, and a total of more than 40,000 soldiers were killed and fled in panic. When Chelimu gathered the defeated soldiers in An County and counted the losses, he was so sad that he almost committed suicide to apologize.

In this battle, Pucha, the commander of the Jing army, was captured, more than ten generals were killed, and more than 28,000 soldiers were killed. Those who survived were all terrified and probably did not have the courage to confront the Qi army head-on in the short term.

This military report was delivered to Wu Yanshu by a fast horse that could travel 800 miles a day, and the generals soon learned the details.

A shadow could not help but cast a shadow over their hearts.

Originally, as long as Yaoshan Pass could be defended, Wu Yanshu could easily attack Jingzhou of Southern Qi, and he had already made good progress. As long as he captured Taikang City in the south, Yongqiu would be trapped.

But now that Yaoshan Pass has been breached, Nanjing City will inevitably become Lu Chen's next target. It seems that the only option left for Wu Yanshu is to withdraw his troops and return for reinforcements.

In this case, wouldn’t all the previous efforts be wasted?

"Lu Chen is indeed extraordinary."

Wu Yanshu looked at the battle report in his hand with a relatively calm expression, and his words seemed to come from his heart.

He raised his eyes to look at the generals in the tent and said calmly: "Did you find any clues from the battle of Yaoshan Pass?"

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment. Someone said respectfully, "Stay here. I don't understand why the infantry of the Qi army is so fierce. Although the armored cavalry under General Pucha's command is not as good as the Tiger and Leopard Battalion, they are also elite cavalry carefully selected from the army. Logically, they should not be beaten so badly by the infantry of the enemy with similar strength."

"If Pucha can choose the best from the best, Lu Chen can do the same."

Wu Yanshu handed the report to his personal soldiers, and then said: "The key lies in the long swords used by the enemy infantry, which is Lu Chen's real killer. Only by matching the fierce and brave soldiers with such magic weapons can extremely terrifying lethality be caused on the battlefield. From this point of view, Lu Chen has not only made great achievements in military tactics in recent years, but also attaches great importance to military equipment, which is rare among the warriors of Southern Qi. If our army can make a breakthrough in this regard, it will surely be more powerful in the future. Agu."

A man in his thirties with a calm face stood up and said, "I am here."

Wu Yanshu pondered and said, "From the details of the battle at Yaoshan Pass, the Qi army had thousands of infantrymen equipped with this kind of long swords, which shows that this is definitely not a quiet little fight. You should immediately organize people and contact our spies in Huaizhou and Dingzhou of Southern Qi. Start with the Military Equipment Department under the Dingzhou Governor's Office and focus on monitoring the larger craftsman shops in Dingzhou of Southern Qi. Find a way to find out the details of this long sword and try your best to get the forging method back."

"The last general takes command!"

Agu immediately retreated.

The generals were impressed by Wu Yanshu's sharpness and decisiveness, but their worries could not be dispelled, because the most important thing now was not to figure out the special weapons of the Southern Qi, but how to resolve the crisis facing the city of Nanjing.

Wu Yanshu knew their thoughts very well and said calmly: "Lu Chen attacked Yaoshan Pass to force our main force to come back for support. Didn't you think from the beginning that Yaoshan Pass might fall?"

This sentence left the generals speechless.

Wu Yanshu shook his head slightly and said, "As a general, you should consider defeat before you consider victory. Perhaps we cannot foresee all the changes, but we must always be prepared in advance. Another point is, as the commanders of the armies, if you are in a state of panic after hearing about the changes, how can you lead your subordinates? You must remain calm in every major event. Do you want me to teach you this simple principle?"

The generals couldn't help but feel ashamed. Guiyou was the first to say, "We will follow the instructions of the garrison commander!"

The rest echoed.

Wu Yanshu stopped talking and stood up and walked to the sand table, staring at the battlefield on the western front. His sight gradually moved to the city of Nanjing in the north, and he said slowly, "If our army withdraws to support us now, Lu Chen will not wait foolishly outside Nanjing to be intercepted by our army. He will definitely withdraw in time. In this way, his strategic goal will be achieved. In the final analysis, he just wants to dispel our army's intention to attack Jingzhou, so we can't follow his rhythm."

Guiyou said cautiously: "Stay here. Lu Chen once attacked Nanjing by surprise three years ago and succeeded in just over ten days."

"You have just read the military report. You should know that using gunpowder to dig holes in the ground to attack the city is a one-time method. As long as our army is prepared, it will be difficult for the enemy to succeed."

Wu Yanshu narrowed his eyes and said calmly: "Lu Chen is also a human being, not a monster. It is impossible for him to use unexpected means every time. Nanjing City only needs to hold on for half a year to complete our army's pre-war goals. The reason why I summoned you here today is to unify everyone's ideas and prevent someone from being distracted and indecisive on the battlefield."

After hearing these words, the generals finally understood the deep meaning behind them. It turned out that the garrison commander had never thought of returning to Nanjing City, but was determined to continue to attack Jingzhou of Southern Qi with all his might.

But the risk here is too great. Once Jingzhou cannot be taken and Nanjing City falls into Lu Chen's hands, wouldn't the Jing army led by Wu Yanshu on the western front be cut off from retreat?
However, with the great victory in Kaocheng and more than ten subsequent victories, no one dared to question Wu Yanshu's prestige in the army.

At this time, Wu Yanshu suddenly turned his head to look at someone and said in a deep voice: "Let's go."

The man bowed his head and said, "I will be here!"

Wu Yanshu said, "You lead 5,000 infantrymen, and I will give you another 5,000 infantrymen, more than 10,000 auxiliary soldiers, and enough civilians to create the illusion of an army of 30,000 to 40,000. Immediately march north along the line from the green to Lake City, and then stop at Qining, a hundred miles southeast of Nanjing City. Remember not to take the initiative to attack, just stay there and keep an eye on the main force of Dingzhou under Lu Chen's command."

He San said loudly: "I obey your orders!"

Wu Yanshu said again: "Ni Panggu."

"The general is here!"

"You lead your 8,000 elite troops to capture Bai County within five days."

"The last general takes command!"

It was not until this time that the generals gradually understood Wu Yanshu's strategy.

It is an indisputable fact that Yaoshan Pass fell and Nanjing City was in crisis, but Wu Yanshu obviously would not be led by Lu Chen. On the one hand, he seemed confident enough that Lu Chen could not take Nanjing City. On the other hand, after the complicated preparation and outline in the early stage, the layout of Jing Army on the western battlefield has gradually taken shape.

The order that Nipangu received was the key step to complete this plan.

Wu Yanshu did not hide anything anymore. His eyes fell on the location of Taikang City and he said slowly, "Liu Shouguang is cautious by nature and unwilling to make any wrong steps. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. If he only had to take charge of one city or one place, he would naturally be a valuable defensive talent. However, in the current situation, not knowing how to adapt would be a fatal weakness. After the battle of Kaocheng, I thought he would retreat directly to Jingzhou, but I didn't expect him to defend both Xinping and Taikang."

All the generals gathered around the sand table, each with a look of surprise in their eyes.

Now they suddenly noticed a detail, that is, in the area currently controlled by Jingjun, Taikang has gradually become an isolated city, and its only connection with the important town of Yongqiu in the south is Bai County.

As long as this connection is cut off, the Qi army's troops inside and outside Taikang City will be trapped.

They didn't know exactly when this was done, but they only knew that in the past one or two months, all of Wu Yanshu's military orders seemed disorganized, with a hammer here and a stick there, as if he was just hitting wherever he wanted.

It was not until this moment that the hideousness of Jing Jun's deployment became apparent.

Wu Yanshu said calmly: "It may be difficult for you to understand the obsession of the Qi people with Nanjing City, and this is exactly the weakness that our army can exploit. Let alone the difficulty of Lu Chen's second assault on Nanjing City, even if he exhausts all his strength to capture Nanjing City, your majesty's backup plan will cut off his retreat. Our goal is to eliminate the living forces of the Southern Qi Jingzhou Army and strive to break their backbone in one battle."

"From the beginning, I never thought of attacking Yongqiu by force. All the arrangements I made before were just to lure Liu Shouguang to focus on Yongqiu, but my goal has never changed, which is to strangle him and the main force of the Qi army inside and outside Taikang City."

"Now, do you understand?"

Wu Yanshu looked around at the crowd, and what responded to him were admiring looks and unanimous shouts.

"understand!"

Wu Yanshu smiled faintly and nodded, "Well, now is the time for our army to close the net."

After more than half an hour, the generals left the commander's tent in a good mood and returned to their respective armies to make arrangements.

Wu Yanshu took a sip of the cool tea, slowly walked out of the general's tent, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the clouds in the sky.

A man in his thirties walked over quickly, saluted, and whispered, "Stay here, there's a secret report from Dadu that General Chemu Gunnanyong has already set off for the southwest, and the preliminary preparations have been completed, just waiting for the notification from those who stay here."

"understood."

Wu Yanshu nodded slightly, and then said meaningfully: "Back then, Lu Chen sent a special force to rush thousands of miles to Yongqiu to hunt. Now we are just imitating him poorly. Although this man is young, his military cunning is no less than that of the Changshan County King. Having such an enemy is a blessing for us soldiers, but it is also a misfortune for Dajing."

"I just hope...he can count fewer steps this time."

(End of this chapter)